Virgin Voyages Embarkation Day, Step by Step

Quick answer: Finish Ready to Sail in the Virgin Voyages App, pick a Terminal Arrival Time, print the luggage tags Virgin emails you, and arrive in the port city the day before. On the day, drop your bags, check in at your slot, collect The Band, then eat, do the muster drill early and explore while your cabin and bags catch up with you.

The week before: three jobs in the app

Most of embarkation day is decided before you leave home. Three things matter:

1. Ready to Sail. This is Virgin’s online check-in, done in the Virgin Voyages App. You can complete it for the people in your cabin only, so in a group of four cabins, four people each do their own.
2. Terminal Arrival Time. Once Ready to Sail is done, you choose an arrival time in the app. Virgin says general boarding usually starts at 2:15 PM, but check-in runs on the slot you picked. Virgin’s own blog suggests doing check-in as soon as the window opens, since earlier check-in can mean better arrival options.
3. Luggage tags. Virgin emails printable tags 7 days before embarkation, after Ready to Sail is complete. Check spam if it does not arrive. Each bag needs the Sailor’s name, ship, cabin number and sailing date. If you cannot print them, tags are available at the terminal.

Virgin also strongly recommends being in your embarkation city at least one day before you sail. Flights slip, and a ship that misses you in its homeport usually cannot take you on at the next port.

What to pack in your carry-on

Plan as if your checked bags will reach the cabin hours after you do. Virgin says bags should arrive before the ship leaves port, and its first-day guide says cabin readiness “can vary.” So the carry-on holds the afternoon:

• Passport and travel documents (never in checked luggage)
• Medications, phone and charger
• Swimsuit, if you want the pool before your bags show up
• Up to two 750 mL bottles of wine per cabin, if you are bringing any (no liquor or beer)
• Up to 12 sealed cans or boxed drinks of 12 oz or less per person, if you want them (no glass or plastic bottles)

On luggage size, Virgin has no airline-style allowance but warns that cabin storage is limited, and suggests one or two large suitcases, one carry-on and one personal item per Sailor. Friends sharing a cabin should agree on that before anyone packs a third bag. For the rules on wine at dinner, see bringing wine or alcohol aboard.

Documents

Virgin asks for a passport valid at least six months past the end of the voyage, and calls the passport book the default. A passport card works only on closed-loop Caribbean sailings from Miami, and voyages calling at Martinique or Guadeloupe need the book. Virgin also lists a narrow exception for US citizens on eligible closed-loop sailings from Miami, Los Angeles, Seattle or New York who cannot get a passport in time. Check the current list on Virgin’s travel requirements page and confirm with your advisor.

At the terminal

Virgin publishes a few port-specific details worth knowing:

Terminals can change, so check the address in your voyage details the week you sail. Terminal Crew can help with a wheelchair from the terminal entrance to the gangway at home ports.

At check-in you collect The Band, the wearable that works as your cabin key and onboard payment. You can wear it, clip it or pocket it. If you would rather have a key card, ask at the terminal, but Virgin notes that a key card does not do Shake for Champagne, ShipEats on the pool deck or quick access to events. How The Band is paid for is covered in paying onboard.

The first hours aboard

Virgin’s own suggested order is: connect to the WiFi (included, and live straight away), check your bookings, do the muster drill, eat, then explore. The muster drill is required on embarkation day, and Virgin advises getting it done early so it does not cut into dinner or Sail Away. Lunch at The Galley is the easy first meal because it needs no reservation. After that, walk the ship, find the coffee, the pool and a spot with an ocean view, and unpack when the cabin is ready.

If you are sailing with a group

Arrival slots are chosen cabin by cabin, so a group rarely boards together. Instead of waiting in the terminal, pick a meeting point aboard and a time, say lunch at The Galley or a spot by the pool, and agree it before the day. Your group can meet in the Nautir app before boarding, so the plan can be settled well before anyone reaches the port. Solo sailors in a group can do the same: you check in alone, then walk straight to a table of people you already know by name.

Next: what happens on the first night, and the Virgin Voyages FAQ for fares and booking terms. Looking for a sailing to join? See our hosted group sailings.